Biden’s policy is nonetheless clear: He’ll seek to restore diplomacy with Iran and bring Turkey back under the sphere of NATO’s influence.

Analysts say the era of impunity for Saudi Arabia will end under Biden but how much he will do in practice is a difficult question to answer.

Saudi Arabia has removed some of the aspects of the male guardianship system, including allowing women to drive and travel without restriction, and women are being encouraged to obtain higher education and join the workforce.

Hosting G20 summit put pressure on Saudi Arabia to improve its human rights record and to compromise about war in Yemen. To find out more, read the following article.

The World Cup would hardly help Saudi Arabia and the UAE save face, given that the rift was designed to force Qatar to subjugate itself to the dictates of the two states. Nor would it solve or contain what UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed sees as an existential threat: Qatar’s support for political Islam, its alliance with Turkey, and the existence of Al Jazeera as a free-wheeling television network.

Sheikh Mansour represents a new breed of regional leaders who are aware of the challenges facing Middle Eastern and Gulf societies as they modernize and develop, and are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure their countries succeed.

Bin Zayed grew up witnessing the rapid transformation of the UAE from huts to Hilton hotels and skyscrapers. Along the way, his father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, elder brother Khalifa and he learned two valuable lessons: the UAE cannot survive without outside protection and they need to remain strategically significant to keep mainly their Western allies interested and on board. Moreover, the country’s geographical location puts it between two regional powers that historically have shown an interest in controlling it.

In addition to addressing its current fiscal woes, Bahraini authorities face the long-term challenge of boosting Bahrain’s regional competitiveness — especially regarding industry, finance, and tourism — and reconciling revenue constraints with popular pressure to maintain generous state subsidies and a large public sector.

Following the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, he claimed that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad was responsible for creating the radical jihadist al-Nusra Front. However, he remains politically active, despite confirming Taymour as his political heir in March 2017. For example, he blamed Saudi Arabia for the resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in November 2017.

Throughout the political upheaval of the past seven years, el-Tayeb has succeeded in maintaining al-Azhar’s key role in Egypt’s power dynamics, by strongly supporting the regime and the army, preventing major internal changes at al-Azhar and ensuring Islam retains a central role in public policies.